Egg layer farms face a number of challenges: feed costs have been rising significantly in 2020 and continue to rise in 2021, disease pressures threaten flocks, and the demand for high-quality eggs produced responsibly. Many producers are adapting from traditional facilities to cage-free facilities to meet new consumer demands

Hen health and productivity are a top priority for producers:

• Building foundations for pullet and hen health
• Increasing egg production
• Reducing incidence of diarrhea and other disease pressures
• Controlling mortality
• Minimizing harmful odors and insects

Probiotics

As antibiotics are phased out and highly regulated in most markets, farmers are looking for ways to support bird health as well as boost the quantity and quality of eggs produced. Probiotics have been used in egg laying farms in combination with many other feed additives, however, there has not been conclusive acceptance that existing probiotic technologies can make a consistent and significant difference in hen health.

Current probiotics have little activity in the small intestine, most take 4-6 hours to begin working, by then they have passed through most of the gut

Timing is key – our activation technology delivers probiotic bacteria with over 95% of the cells activated and ready to begin growing as soon as they reach the upper small intestine

What does activation and growth in the small intestine mean?

• In order to have an impact on the gut microbiome in egg laying hens, probiotics need to be active and vegetative throughout the whole intestinal tract
• The small intestine is where most nutrient digestion and absorption occurs
• Most immune system function is in the small intestine